Is anyone out there unemployed.......

Anyone suffering from depression may post their history, experience, comments and/or suggestions. Please refrain from indepth discussions about medicines or other therapies.
LyndaLu
Posts: 794
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:43 pm

Re: Is anyone out there unemployed.......

Post by LyndaLu » Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:19 pm

Lucy,

Thank you for thinking about me.
I have been unemployed since April 2009.
I had a breakdown in April 2007 and I was on a
short term leave of absence. I returned
to work 5 months later. After my return
I was not given back any of my same job duties.
I was given other job duties to perform,
job duties that required less thinking and less doing.
After the breakdown I could not function at
work any longer in the capacity that I once had.
Everything had changed. My brain had changed.
The breakdown really DID break my brain in some way.
I never got back to the level of performance
that I once had before the breakdown.
April 6, 2007 was the day of the breakdown and
April 8, 2009 was the day of my layoff from my job.
When I returned back to work after the breakdown
I had a feeling in my gut that I would eventually
be layed off from my job. For me I always knew
that at some point I would be let go.
So, that is why it is so hard to find a job again.
I cannot make up a resume' of what I used to do
at my old job, because I cannot perform THOSE
job duties any longer. I do not have the memory
or the concentration. I would have to have a more
entry level position. Employers want a person
who can multi-task and a person who knows all
about computers. I cannot do either.I have some
physical disabilities too ! What is
there left for me to do ? I have no idea.
Lynda

LyndaLu
Posts: 794
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:43 pm

Re: Is anyone out there unemployed.......

Post by LyndaLu » Fri Jun 29, 2012 8:55 pm

lucy

Thanks for your reply. It is so hard for my sister and my mother to understand what I am going through.

My thoughts and prayers go out to your family. I hope they find new jobs soon. :)

Lynda

LyndaLu
Posts: 794
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2010 4:43 pm

Re: Is anyone out there unemployed.......

Post by LyndaLu » Mon Jul 21, 2014 10:00 pm

It has been a couple of years since I posted here.
In 2012 I had no health insurance and my Unemployment
Benefits expired. I had to stop taking my psychiatric
medications because I could no longer afford them.
My sister was supporting me financially for about 9 months.
The year 2012 really sucked and I was isolating myself from everything.
I don't think that my family or myself knew how quickly my life
was going into a downward spiral. In January 2013 I started collecting
Social Security Benefits. It took 21 months to get a hearing in
January 2013 so that a SSD Judge could hear my case. I had
an attorney. Immediately after the hearing the judge said that
I had won my case. I cried. Then my attorney said that I was
getting two years backdated benefits. I cried some more.
On the cab ride home, I cried even more. I finally had the
benefits that I deserved and my sister did not have to support
me any longer. I had the backdated pay, so this way I could
have some money in a savings account to use to supplement
my monthly benefits. Also, I qualified for Medicare right away.
I cried when I heard that too. Finally something was working out
for me and I was getting help.

Unfortunately I was still very, very depressed and very, very
isolated through most of 2013. I had the benefits but I was not
taking any psychiatric medications at this time. My mom was
elderly and had to be put into a nursing home in August 2013.
This is when I started to have what I call a "pre-breakdown"
period. By October 2013 I was in the psychiatric hospital
having a breakdown. But this was the best thing that could
have happened to me. I got the help I needed, I started
learning about CBT, and I had some great peers to talk
to while I was in the hospital. After the hospital I was in
a Partial Hospitalization Program for 6 weeks and I learned
more about CBT and coping skills and met more people just
like me that I could relate too. I qualified for some free services
in my community and so now I could get a free psychiatrist,
free psychiatric medications, and free programs to help with
my recovery. That was 9 months ago. I have had my ups and downs
during the past nine months, but at least I have the monthly
Social Security Benefits, I have the psychiatric help that I need,
and I have a new insurance plan through a major health insurance
company this year. Finally good things are happening. I am still
struggling with finding a balance in every day life. I am still
battling the depression, and now I actually have more anxiety
than depression sometimes ! There is a great Womens
Center here in town and they have free classes and workshops
and support groups. My sister doesn't understand my illness,
no matter how much I try to explain it to her.
My mom died in December 2013 and now I am totally alone
in my city. I live in Arizona and my sister lives in Idaho.
I was alone for Christmas and New Years and Valentines
Day and Easter and my birthday and Fourth of July.
It is a weird feeling to be totally alone.
We are burying my moms ashes soon in Minnesota.
So hopefully I will have some closure with that.
Thanks for listening.
Lynda :)

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